Kaleidoscopes, with their moving fragments, mirrors, and varied colors that produce constantly shifting patterns, provide an apt metaphor for the creating and understanding of memories. Archaeologist Susan Alcock of Brown University uses this framework to consider the distribution of memory in the Empire, including initial possession, sharing, circulation, division, and dissemination, and presents three case studies to demonstrate the prismatic effects of these processes.

About Susan Alcock
Susan Alcock is the director of Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where she is also the Joukousky Family Professor in Archaeology. Trained as a classical archaeologist at Yale University and at the University of Cambridge, Alcock's interests lie in the material culture of the eastern Mediterranean and western Asia, particularly in Hellenistic and Roman times. Much of her research has revolved around themes of landscape, imperialism, sacred space, and memory. Her fieldwork has, until recently, taken the form of regional investigations in Greece, but she is now directing the Brown University Petra Archaeological Project (BUPAP), exploring numerous aspects of the urban site and rural hinterland of Petra in southern Jordan.

Planning your visit
The main gate at 17985 Pacific Coast Highway opens to ticketed guests at 6:00 p.m. The auditorium opens at 7:00 p.m., and seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Guests arriving late will be seated at the discretion of Getty staff. The galleries will be open before and after the lecture. A selection of light "grab 'n go" dinner fare as well as beer and wine are available for purchase at the Café until 7:30 p.m. Complimentary refreshments will be served following the lecture.

How to Get Here
The Getty Villa is located at 17985 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, approximately 25 miles west of downtown Los Angeles. See Hours, Directions, Parking for directions and parking information.